Football League agrees new 'solidarity' deal with Premier League

Football League clubs stand to benefit from increased financial injections after an agreement was reached with the Premier League.

Published

19 February 2015

The Football League has announced a new "rolling solidarity agreement" that will see a proportion of Premier League television revenues redistributed to clubs in tiers two to four from 2016-17.

The arrangement - revealed as the Football League announced its new broadcast deal with Sky Sports - represents the first contracted link between the TV incomes of the two bodies since the formation of the Premier League in 1992.

Under the new agreement, parachute payments to relegated top-flight sides will be reduced to three seasons from four, with other Championship clubs who are not in receipt of such payments being awarded a financial injection equivalent to 30 per cent of a third-year parachute payment.

Clubs in League One and Two will receive 4.5 and three per cent of a third-year payment respectively.

"The eventual level of parachute and solidarity payments made to Football League clubs from 2016-17 will only be known once the Premier League has concluded the sale of its overseas rights," said Football League chief executive Shaun Harvey.

"Nevertheless, given the scale of its domestic agreement, it seems reasonable to expect that the eventual amounts paid to Football League clubs will be substantially greater than those we've seen previously and could amount to more than £100million per season.

"This agreement is hugely significant for the domestic game, not just for the Football League, but also the Premier League and the England team, both of which benefit from a vibrant and financially sustainable set of clubs beneath the top division that will continue to invest in the players and managers of the future."

Earlier this month the Premier League announced a record £5.136billion deal with Sky Sports and BT Sport to show top-flight matches in the UK for three years from the 2016-17 season.